A Hove restaurant is not allowed to operate on its first floor after a planning application was refused on appeal.
Brighton and Hove City Council turned down a planning application from Persia, in Church Road, Hove, to use its first floor as a restaurant and the second floor as a staff flat.
The owner of the business Ebad Abdulkhani also applied for part-retrospective permission for a first-floor extension.
Council officials rejected the proposal in June last year, saying that the extension was an “over-prominent development which results in a poor relationship with adjoining properties and a harmful impact on the street scape”.
The first floor used to be part of a maisonette and the second reason for refusal was the loss of accommodation.
Persia appealed against the council’s decision, saying that the extension would be in keeping with the Cliftonville Conservation Area, saying: “The appellant’s case is that the flat-roofed rear extension is sympathetic to the form and detail of the host building and neighbours while being visible only at a limited point on the streetscape.
“From where it can be seen, the extension aligns with the clear characteristics of the rear building lines in the immediacy.”
Dismissing the appeal, a planning inspector said: “The roof of the proposal would be flat and, while I note the council’s concerns, the small extensions that are generally characteristic of the area are generally flat-roofed and therefore this particular aspect of the design is generally in line with the roofscape.
“However, this does not mitigate the harm as a result of the considerable width and depth which results in an over-prominent development that would have a poor relationship with adjoining neighbours and the streetscape.
“I find that the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the area and fail to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area.”
Mr Abdulkhani was also unsuccessful when he applied to extend the business’s drinks licence to cover the first floor in February.
He is also currently banned from being a company director until August 2027.
I feel like this has already happened regardless of the councils decision. Seems really much in use to me, I live directly opposite so I can see into the to first floor very clearly.